Legend

"Thirty levels... thirty levels of Innate Soul Power?!" Huo Yuhao's voice rose even higher.

An Innate Soul Power of fifteen levels for a Golden Sacred Dragon martial soul was still within the realm of his understanding, but thirty levels of Innate Full Soul Power? Was this truly something a human could achieve?

Who exactly was that legendary Pope Chen Mo? Just how powerful was his martial soul to have granted him an Innate Soul Power of thirty levels?

"Surprised, aren't you? When I first heard about it, I thought it was just my great-grandfather trying to goad me."

"But later, I realized it was true." Bei Bei rested his hands behind his head and continued:

"There are many legends regarding Pope Chen Mo, and it's hard to distinguish truth from fiction, but this heaven-defying Innate Soul Power is the one thing consistent across every single account."

"In the emblem of the Martial Soul Hall, it is said the central portion represents Pope Chen Mo's martial soul, but what it actually is, no one knows. It hasn't appeared once in the ten thousand years since."

Even Huo Yuhao had to take several deep breaths to steady his emotions.

If that Pope Chen Mo truly possessed such terrifying talent, it was not hard to understand how the Martial Soul Hall had grown into the behemoth it was today.

Unprecedented, and likely never to be surpassed.

This was the most fitting description Huo Yuhao could conjure.

"Alright, let's stop talking about him; don't let it shake the confidence of our new little genius." Bei Bei turned to look at Huo Yuhao and added:

"It's a fact that our talent doesn't compare to that legend, but we are also the beginning of a legend for this era. That is what my great-grandfather taught me."

"If you lose the courage to surpass others, you'll only ever be a failure. How about that? Pretty inspiring, right?"

Huo Yuhao nodded. That was true; he had originally been the darling of the Douluo Continent, and now, having been reborn with even better talent than before, why should he feel inferior because of a figure from history?

He might not necessarily be worse than that legend!

Once he realized this, the anxiety in his heart dissipated.

"Haha, well said." Bei Bei let out a hearty laugh.

"By the way, Brother Bei Bei, there should still be quite a distance to the Star Dou Forest, aren't we planning to depart yet?" Since he started chatting with Bei Bei, Huo Yuhao hadn't felt a single vibration, so he subconsciously assumed they hadn't left yet.

Bei Bei was stunned for a moment before he realized what he meant, pointing toward the curtain beside Huo Yuhao:

"We departed long ago, of course. It's just that the carriage I take doesn't usually travel by land."

Huo Yuhao pulled back the curtain. Outside was neither the stationary Martial Soul Community gate nor a landscape slowly receding; it was clouds drifting backward.

"A Martial Soul Hall patent: the Sky Soul Horse Soul Tool Carriage. A hundred miles costs only three white radishes."

"It's a product of combining soul tool technology with a traditional carriage. The soul tool provides the lift, while the Sky Soul Horse provides the basic, minimal propulsion."

"Oh, and this thing was actually invented by Pope Chen Mo, though it was only rediscovered and replicated from the archives a few years before I was born."

Huo Yuhao was not surprised; naturally, it was something related to Chen Mo again.

And judging by the speed he estimated, in the time they had been chatting, they had already covered at least two-thirds of the journey from the Martial Soul Community to the Star Dou Forest!

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Huo Yuhao noticed the scenery outside the window beginning to descend. In other words, they had reached their destination.

When the wheels made contact with the ground again and his feet stepped onto the soil, he felt a sense of unreality.

That long, long road from his memories now only required a few minutes of sitting and chatting to traverse; it was truly hard to believe.

"Lord Bei Bei, you really are here." Wang Hong approached the window, looking at Bei Bei, who was sitting with Huo Yuhao, with a helpless expression.

"What, can't I make a new friend?"

Wang Hong shook his head: "You can, but you always go missing like this, which is a disaster for my salary. I hope you can show mercy and spare it."

Bei Bei had heard this line countless times; after offering a few perfunctory words, he jumped off the carriage with Huo Yuhao.

What appeared before Huo Yuhao was that same primeval forest, identical to the one in his memories.

"This is... the Star Dou Forest?" Huo Yuhao looked around. This place, and this place alone, was almost exactly as he remembered it—save for the absence of that crude signpost.

"Correct. One of the only three primeval ecosystems on the Douluo Continent not incorporated into the Martial Soul Hall Soul Beast Protection System: the Star Dou Forest." After ordering the others to secure the Sky Soul Horse, Wang Hong led Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao toward the entrance of the Star Dou Forest.

Martial Soul Hall Soul Beast Protection System...

Huo Yuhao repeated it in his mind; it was another term he had absolutely no impression of.

"Indeed, the vast majority of soul beast forests on the Douluo Continent have been incorporated into this system, and corresponding soul beast nature reserves have been established."

"Each nature reserve is guarded by a Yellow-robed Martial Soul Envoy with at least the cultivation of a Soul Emperor. Only soul masters who have registered with the Martial Soul Hall and obtained a permit may enter to hunt for soul rings."

"During this time, the Martial Soul Hall also ensures that the ecological chain of the soul beasts within is not affected by soul master hunting, allowing it to continue smoothly."

"As for the Star Dou Forest, it is on par with the Far North and the Douluo Sea, one of the only three places where one can hunt for soul rings freely."

Huo Yuhao didn't quite understand terms like 'nature reserve' or 'ecological chain' that Wang Hong used, but he could guess their general meaning from the literal words.

The intention behind the Martial Soul Hall's actions was twofold: first, to ensure that soul beasts would not suffer a sharp decline in numbers due to wanton human hunting, as they had in Huo Yuhao's previous life; and second, as mentioned before, to integrate themselves into every stage of a soul master's cultivation.

As for why these three areas were not included in the system, it was easy to understand: they were simply too vast, so large that even the Martial Soul Hall could not fully encompass them.

Among them, the Star Dou Forest and the Far North were concepts he was already familiar with from his previous life.

As for the Douluo Sea... going by the name, it should be where sea soul beasts lived.

"Then, Brother Bei Bei, there must be a lot of people coming to these three places to hunt for souls, right?"

Hearing Huo Yuhao's form of address, Wang Hong's brow twitched. This kid was something else; he'd already started calling him 'Brother'?

"No, according to Great-Grandfather, far fewer people hunt for souls in these three locations compared to the Soul Beast Reserves."

Bei Bei answered Huo Yuhao's question, then continued to explain:

"In the Soul Beast Reserves of Martial Soul Hall, the living areas of all soul beasts can be precisely categorized."

"Species, attributes, age—all of these can be found on the distribution maps provided by Martial Soul Hall."

"The vast majority of people won't gamble their luck and their lives on a slim chance; when there are places that are both safe and easy to navigate, where the soul beast you need is precisely marked, why wouldn't you go there?"

Bei Bei's explanation was very easy to understand, and Huo Yuhao thought to himself that if Soul Beast Reserves had existed in his past life, he certainly wouldn't have risked his life trying his luck in the Star Dou Forest.

"And if you choose a primitive gathering point for soul beasts like the Star Dou Forest, what happens is..."

Suddenly, a shadow flashed before Huo Yuhao's eyes, and by the time he reacted, Wang Hong was already holding a fierce, white-furred baboon in his hand.

Even though the baboon was being choked by the neck, it kept flailing its claws wildly.

Just then, a milky-white ball of light began to condense in its mouth, containing a turbulent surge of soul power.

But the next moment, Wang Hong cleanly severed its head, and until the moment it hit the ground and splattered blood, its face still bore that ferocious expression.

A bright yellow soul ring slowly emerged above its corpse.

"At any time and any place, you may be subjected to an attack by a soul beast," Bei Bei said slowly, looking at the corpse on the ground.